Alice in Wonderland (or What's A Nice Girl Like You Doing
in a Place Like This?)

A witty animated version of the Lewis Carroll classic with some excellent songs
and more than a touch of camp. When Fred Flintstone and Barney Rubble appear as a
two-headed caterpillar singing the vaudeville-style "They'll Never Split Us
Apart," its a riot. The story holds up well amid all the hilarity. A soundtrack
recording was released on LP.

The Honeymooners

As part of his weekly CBS variety series, Gleason produced
ten hour-long musicals featuring Ralph Kramden and his beloved Honeymooners
cohorts. The Kramdens and Nortons win an all expenses paid vacation (by writing a
slogan for Flakey Wakey breakfast cereal), and proceed to sing and dance
their way through every major European country -- with an African safari thrown in.
Bresler and Duddy provided melodic, amusing original songs for
each episode -- an amazing accomplishment. These episodes were tremendous fun,
and were so well received that they inspired Gleason to produce 32 more new
Honeymooners episodes over the next three years.

I met Lyn Duddy years later, and he was delighted to learn
that someone still recalled some of the fine tunes he composed for this series.
Released on DVD, these do not eclipse the glorious original Honeymooners
episodes, but still offer a load of silly fun.

Olympus 7-000

The Greek god Hermes (O'Connor) is summoned to assist a struggling
college football coach. The composer of Broadway's Damn Yankees was
unable to do for football what he did for baseball, but viewers got to enjoy
star quarterback Namath at the height of his popularity.

The Canterville Ghost

The composer and lyricist of Fiorello and Fiddler
on the Roof did very nicely in their one score for TV. My parents were uneasy
about letting their six year old watch a ghost story, but I enjoyed it. To my
knowledge, never re-run  and a pity too, because the score is good and Redgrave
is delicious as the ghost. Critics were very hard on this at the time, so my childhood
memory may be faulty.

A decent score, but this production stood out thanks to a
sensational all-star cast and a book that stayed close to the original Lewis Carroll
story line. There was a soundtrack album and the show was rebroadcast once
or twice.

Evening Primrose

(ABC - Stage 67) November 16, 1966
Music & Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
Teleplay by James Goldman (based on a story by James Collier)
Cast: Anthony Perkins, Charmain Carr, Dorothy Stickney, Larry Gates

This bizarre tale of hermits who live in a department store at night
was not well received, but Sondheim (in his only TV musical) provided
interesting songs. "I Remember" was later heard in the stage revue
Side By Side By Sondheim and has since been popular with cabaret performers.
Sadly, this was broadcast at 10 PM, which was way past my bedtime in those days. The
CD studio version starring Neil Patrick Harris verifies what a fine score this is.

Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas

Arguably the most popular TV cartoon special of all time brought together
the wit of Suess with with voices of Frankenstein's monster (Karloff) and TV's
'Tony the Tiger' (Ravenscroft). The results brought the story of a Christmas-hating
curmudgeon to joyous life. Rebroadcast every year for more than three decades, it
eventually inspired a successful (but not nearly as delicious) big screen
version, and a popular but ever so tacky Broadway musical.

Jack and the Beanstalk

The classic fairy tale was told with great style and wit
by The Prince Street Players, who specialized in children's musicals witty enough to
amuse adults. One of several superb musicals the Players presented on CBS
in the late 60s. As a kid, I adored them all. The songs were catchy (I still remember
the tongue-in-cheek "Oh, Them Golden Eggs!"), the script amusing, and the
performers were first-rate.

Jack and the Beanstalk

Kelly produced, directed and starred in this
Emmy-winning version of the classic fairy tale using live action
and animation. I remember enjoying it immensely at the tender age of
six. The Cahn-Van Heusen score was, of course, tuneful &
classy. I'd love to see an archival re-run or home video release of this one.

I'm Getting Married

How could such a stellar team go wrong? Well, they did. A
soon to be wed couple express their fears and fantasies about what the future may bring.
Performed cabaret style with two-piano accompaniment, most critics felt that this game
attempt simply did not work. In their many concert appearances, Comden and Green did not
try to reprise any of this score  which
suggests even they took little delight in it.

Carousel

Second rate in many
departments, particularly Goulet's sloppy performance. The highlight
is Ms. Neway (Broadway's original Mother Abbess in
Sound of Music) singing "You'll Never Walk Alone." A
soundtrack recording was released.

This version by New York's Prince Street Players was one
of the finest children's musicals ever broadcast. The script and
performances were hilarious, and the songs were great  including
"Stitch and Sew" and "You Gotta Blow Your Own Trumpet."
Robert Dagny was a hoot as Sinister the Prime Minister! I've known any number of
Broadway hits that were not half as witty or melodic.
Oh, what I would give for the whole Prince Street series to be
rebroadcast or available on video!

When a school administrator tries to ban Mother Goose books
from classrooms because he feels the characters set poor examples, Mother
Goose herself appears and turns him into a child. She then takes him through
her stories to meet the characters, proving they are not so bad. A promising
idea, but not well received by most critics. To my knowledge, this is the only
other musical with a score by the composer of 1776.

Damn Yankees

The budget was so tight that most of the ball players were cardboard cutouts (no,
I am NOT kidding), and the sets were minimalistic. However, the casting of Silvers as
the demonic Applegate was inspired. A Musicals101 visitor wrote in to say that Lee Remick
as Lola was "so damned sexy, and sang so well, that by the end of the show my voice
deepened and I had grown facial hair." Bargan basement as it may be, I can't help wishing that an
archival copy of this one would make it to home video.

Noel Coward appearing in a Richard Rodgers musical? A fascinating
prospect, but as it turned out no one was really satisfied with the results. The
critics found it competent but unexciting, and both Rodgers and Coward agreed.
The score is forgotten  even the many revues of Rodgers' work have all skipped this
one. Pity, because what I remember of it was quite enjoyable. To my knowledge
it has never been re-broadcast.

Aladdin

Another in the wonderful Prince Street Players CBS series, this one was
staged using traditional Chinese stage techniques. Innovative and entertaining, it had a
first-rate cast  with Will B. Able a standout as the loveable genie of the lamp.
"Lovely Morning in China" and "In The Wink of an Eye" were highlights
of the Broadway-quality score.

Kiss Me Kate

Didn't see this one  the casting of
a real-life husband and wife in the leads is intriguing. The
soundtrack recording has a few too many attempts to "update" the
songs with 1960s rock-flavored arrangements, but Goulet's black velvet baritone
provides a few lovely moments.

That's Life

The only attempt so far at a weekly musical comedy TV series.
That's Life involved the courtship and early married years of a young
couple played by Morse and Peaker. There were six songs in each hour long
episode, with a mixture of existing hits and new numbers. One of the
guest stars was Liza Minnelli. This series
was well received by the critics but only drew moderate ratings. In
1990, the short-lived Cop Rock would attempt weekly musical drama.

Hans Brinker and the Silver Skates

Filmed on location in Holland, this handsome production still shows
up on TV from time to time. The script is mostly stodgy and forgettable, except for one
delectable sequence where Hans and his uncouth teen companions stay at an inn owned by
persnickety Cyril Ritchard. Ritchard tries to teach the boys "Proper Manners,"
a wonderful musical moment. My advice is to catch a rerun of this one on your VCR and
fast-forward to
Ritchard's showstopper.

The Little Drummer Boy

(NBC) Dec. 19, 1968
New Music by Maury Laws
New Lyrics by Jules Bass
Voices included Greer Garson, Jose Ferrer and the Vienna Boys Choir

A charming dramatization of the popular Christmas song, with
a boy playing "pa-rumpa-pum-pum" on
his drum for the newborn Christ. Good claymation, Ferrer sings the
amusing "When the Goose is Hanging High," and no less than the
Vienna Boys Choir handles the title tune. Rebroadcast annually, this show
has also been released on home video.

The Littlest Angel

A shepherd boy finds it hard to be heaven's littlest angel, but
when he offers his boyhood box of treasures to the baby Jesus, God is so pleased
by the humble gift that he turns it into the star of Bethlehem. Whitaker
(who was then starring in the hit sitcom Family Affair) played the title role
with great charm. Gwynne (known to my generation as Herman Munster) was a
heartwarming standout as the boy's bumbling guardian angel, with Randall a
stuffy hoot as one of
his winged superiors. The all-star cast clearly had a blast, and the show set a
ratings record for the Hallmark Hall of Fame series.